Fully 151 students in York’s Faculty of Graduate Studies have won research scholarship and fellowship grants totalling $5.6 million for studies ranging from corn and history to motherhood and psychology.
The grants are part of $96 million in awards announced late last month by David Emerson, federal minister of industry and minister responsible for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), which funds master's, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships and scholarships for Canadian students as part of its work.
The investment in graduate studies will help researchers better understand the social, economic and cultural issues facing Canadians, including education, globalization, immigration, work, language, ethics, art and culture.
"Research is an essential part of a university education," said York Vice-President Research & Innovation Stan Shapson, acting president of SSHRC. "And every year SSHRC's scholarship and fellowship programs grow to ensure more and more of Canada's top students and emerging researchers receive the training they need to excel."
The successful students were chosen by independent juries of expert researchers who rewarded only the highest standards of academic achievement.
Among doctoral students, 36 won a total of $1.46 million in funding under the Doctoral Fellowships Program, which provides $20,000 per year for up to four years.
Thomas Crawshaw, a doctoral candidate in history, received four years’ funding for his research into the early days of the English Civil War. His study is titled "An army for king and parliament: The Earl of Essex (left) and his forces 1642-1645". Anne Friz, a doctoral candidate in communications and culture, received her four-year grant for a study of "The Dream Life of Radio". Katherine Harper, one of several graduate students in psychology to receive funding, received $80,000 for her research into psychoanalysis, complexity theory and 
cognitive science.
Four graduate researchers received three-year awards of $60,000 for their studies, including sociologists Tara Atluri, who is studying race, racism and anti-racism post-9/11, and Laura Fenton, who is looking into "Eugenics in Canada: a 
trans-Atlantic perspective". Psychologist Fahrettin Kocalar is researching emotional processing in psychotherapy, and anthropologist Georgia Marman will write about Mexico’s maquiladora industry (left).
Other research topics that were successful in winning grants include "The culture of corn: biodiversity and new social movements in Mexico" by environmental studies researcher Lauren Baker, and fishery unionism in Newfoundland by political scientist Sandra Ignagni.
Another 24 doctoral students gained funding under the Canada Graduate Scholarhip - Doctoral program, featuring grants of $105,000 over three years. Two York students won Postdoctoral Fellowships that together totalled $105,000. And 89 master's degree students were awarded $17,500 each.
For a complete list of successful recipients, visit the SSHRC Web site at www.sshrc.ca or see the detailed PDF here.